"Although the charging document does not say who the 'enemy' is, there’s only two possibilities," Greenwald says. "Either they mean Wikileaks … or any kind of leak now of classified information to newspapers where your intent is not to aid the Taliban, but expose wrongdoing.

In the past, aiding the enemy has been reserved for acts where somebody in the US government, like CIA officials, actually transmit intelligence information intended to be received by the enemy... where the intention was really to put it into their hands and help them in terms of being able to use it. There's very few cases, if there are any, where aiding the enemy has been invoked in order to convict somebody who's clearly acting as a whistleblower, and not giving any information to the enemy but simply intending that it be publicly written about and talked about in order to achieve reforms".

"So let me get this straight. The Vice President of the United States, Joe Biden, says that the 'leaked cables created no substantive damage — only embarrassment.' So they’re going to charge Manning with 'aiding the enemy”=' because they claim he knew WikiLeaks would publish them on the internet, the 'enemy' can see the internet, and the cables 'bring discredit upon the armed forces.'

They want to lock a 23 year-old up for the rest of his life, using a charge designed for terrorists and spies, because he embarrassed them in front of the bad guys?" go to:

HRW - News

ENGLISH FOLK POEM, 1764

ENGLISH FOLK POEM, 1764

They hang the man and flog the womanThat steal the goose from off the common,But let the greater villain looseThat steals the common from the goose.The law demands that we atoneWhen we take things we do not ownBut leaves the lords and ladies fineWho take things that are yours and mine.

The poor and wretched don't escapeIf they conspire the law to break;This must be so but they endureThose who conspire to make the law.

The law locks up the man and womanWho steals the goose from off the common;And geese will still a common lackTill they go and steal it back.